Taliban's victims want justice; NRA's new ad; lockdown at MIT

View full sizeProtesters chant anti-government slogans as they demonstrate in front of Egypt's high court building in downtown Cairo, Friday.The Associated Press

Our top stories tonight include:

OSCAR PISTORIUS CASE: Far from the courtroom drama that has gripped South Africa, the family of Oscar Pistorius’ slain girlfriend has struggled with its own private deluge of grief, frustration and bewilderment. The victim’s relatives also harbor misgivings about efforts by the Olympian’s family to reach out to them with condolences. Pistorius, meanwhile, is at his uncle’s home in an affluent suburb of Pretoria, the South African capital, after a judge released him on bail following days of testimony that transfixed South Africa and much of the world. He was charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, but the athlete says he killed her accidentally, opening fire after mistaking her for an intruder in his home.

THE TALIBAN'S VICTIMS IN PAKISTAN: Hazratullah Khan, who lost his right leg below the knee in a car bombing, answers immediately when asked whether the Pakistani government should hold peace talks with Taliban leaders responsible for attacks like the one that maimed him. “Hang them alive,” said the 14-year-old. The Pakistani government and Taliban forces fighting in northwestern tribal areas have expressed an interest in peace talks to end the years-long conflict. But to many victims of Taliban violence, the idea of negotiating with people responsible for so much human pain is abhorrent.

ISLAMISTS IN MALI RECRUIT CHILD SOLDIERS: The radical Islamic fighters showed up at Mohamed Salia’s Quranic school, armed with weapons and demanding to address his students. The leader, named Hamadi, entered one of the classrooms, took a piece of chalk and scrawled his message on the blackboard. “How to wage holy war,” he wrote in Arabic. “How to terrorize the enemy in combat,” the lesson plan continued. The experience of the Gao schools illustrates how the extremists used madrassas in northern Mali to indoctrinate young people and to recruit child soldiers.

GOVERNORS AND THE BUDGET BATTLE: Exasperated governors who are trying to gauge the fallout from impending federal spending cuts say Washington’s protracted budget stalemate could seriously undermine the economy and stall gains made since the recession.

NRA'S NEW AD USES MEMO: The National Rifle Association is using a Justice Department memo it obtained to argue in ads that the Obama administration believes its gun control plans won’t work unless the government seizes firearms and requires national gun registration — ideas the White House has not proposed and does not support. The NRA’s assertion and its obtaining of the document in the first place underscore the no-holds-barred battle under way as Washington’s fight over gun restrictions heats up.

HAGEL'S FIGHT: The fierce Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary is personal and business. The nasty fight long has been seen as a proxy for the never-ending scuffles between the Democratic president and congressional Republicans, with barely any reservoir of good will between the White House and lawmakers, and the GOP still smarting over the November election results. Barring any surprises, the drawn-out battle over Hagel’s nomination probably will end this coming week with his Senate confirmation. But his fellow Republicans have roughed him up. A vote is expected Tuesday.

MICHIGAN FIGHTS CAN SCAMS: Some Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers abusing Michigan’s recycling refunds made famous in a “Seinfeld” episode, saying the state is losing millions of dollars a year to out-of-state scofflaws. “Seinfeld” characters Kramer and Newman failed miserably in their comedic attempt to cash in, but, some Michigan lawmakers say it remains a serious problem, especially in border counties, and they are pushing legislation to toughen penalties on people who try to return out-of-state cans and bottles for a refund.

TRADE CENTER BOMBING ANNIVERSARY: Though hard to imagine now, the prevailing theory moments after an explosion rocked the World Trade Center on a chilly day 20 years ago this week was that it was an accident. The truth — that a cell of Islamic extremists had engineered a car-bomb attack that killed six people, injured more than 1,000 and caused more than a half-billion dollars in damage — “was incomprehensible,” recalled FBI agent John Anticev. On the eve of the 20-year anniversary of the bombing, Anticev and other officials involved in the case reflected on an event that taught them tough lessons about a dire threat from jihadists.

EGYPTIAN ELECTIONS: Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei calls for a boycott of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, drawing immediate criticism from activists within his own camp who say he spoke too soon. It is a blow to an already fractured movement that has been unable to find much success at the polls since the 2011 uprising and it may help ensure another victory for the dominant Muslim Brotherhood.

LOCKDOWN AT MIT: Authorities say report of gunman wearing body armor on MIT campus in Mass. was a hoax.